St Augustine's Church, Even Swindon

Last updated

St Augustine's Church, Swindon, from Rodbourne Road St Augustines Church Rodbourne Swindon - geograph.org.uk - 110306.jpg
St Augustine's Church, Swindon, from Rodbourne Road

The Church of St. Augustine is an Anglican parish church in Even Swindon (also known locally as Rodbourne), an area of the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The church was built in 1907 to serve the spiritual needs of people moving to Swindon for employment at the Great Western Railway Works. It is in the Diocese of Bristol and the province of Canterbury, and is dedicated to St. Augustine of Canterbury.

Contents

More than 1,000 poppies hanging in the church to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice in 2018 Poppies staugustine.jpg
More than 1,000 poppies hanging in the church to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice in 2018

Earlier churches

In what is thought to be a former church schoolroom built around 1873, the Rodbourne Cheney District Room became a mission chapel in the early 1880s within the parish of St Mary Rodbourne Cheney. The inventory records that the licence holding Divine Services was acquired on 2 April 1881. The earliest known record of a baptism dates from 1885.

The Rev W Mould, vicar of St Mary's and also chaplain to Queen Victoria, found difficulty in covering services at the chapel and made arrangements for St Mark's Church (another 'railway' church) to cover services and pastoral work.

On 26 October 1904, Rev Henry Harvey was licensed as missionary curate in St Augustine's district. He went on to serve the church in Rodbourne for a total of 29 years, was made Honorary Chaplain to the Bishop, and on completion of 25 years' service was made an Honorary Canon of Bristol Cathedral.

Construction and architecture

The building was designed by W. A. H. Masters, [1] who also designed St Luke's Church, Broad Street, Swindon, [2] and St Philip's, Upper Stratton.

The foundation stone of St Augustine's was laid on 13 April 1907 amid much ceremony, and was the first time that the Freemasons in Wiltshire were involved in a church service. The church in its current state was consecrated on 25 January 1908. The bricks were paid for by the parishioners and cost one old penny each. A shortfall in funding meant that the side aisles, porches, bell tower and further chapels were not built.

It is one of the few churches in the south of England, and one of two in Swindon, to be built in the basilica style, and consists of a large nave of six wide bays and a small polygonal apse, with a walled choir surrounded by aisles. There is no physical division between nave and choir in the main building, so it is effectively a large hall. The vestry and lady chapel are at the north-east corner of the church. The lancet windows are in neo-Romanesque style. The building was designated as Grade II listed in 1970. [1]

The church is approximately 120 ft long (37 m), 40 ft wide (12 m) and the nave roof reaches about 50 ft (15 m); the apse arch is about 30 ft high (9.1 m). The single bell in the north-east turret weighs four and a half hundredweight, or 504 pounds (229 kg).

Interior

The font is an exact replica of the fine Norman font at St Leonard's Church, Stanton Fitzwarren. It is divided into ten compartments, each with a Latin inscription. The first, Eclesia stands for the church – and the carving is of the crowned Divine Bride, holding the sacred chalice and killing evil (depicted as a serpent) with the stem of the cross. The second compartment, inscribed Cherubim shows a six winged cherubim, with its eyes covered to show its spiritual nature. The Cherubim holds a sword to show it is guardian of the Church.

The font at St Augustine's with depictions of good overcoming evil, a replica of the font at Stanton Fitzwarren St A font.jpg
The font at St Augustine's with depictions of good overcoming evil, a replica of the font at Stanton Fitzwarren

The other eight compartments show eight crowned knights holding shields and weapons. These represent the goodly Christian Virtues and they are depicted dwarfing figures, which represent the evil vices fighting in the baptised soul. Details of these remaining compartments are:

Apse painting at St Augustine's Church, Swindon, of Christ Pantocrator with the virgin and child and St Augustine 000056 apse.jpg
Apse painting at St Augustine's Church, Swindon, of Christ Pantocrator with the virgin and child and St Augustine

Other artwork in the church includes the apse painting, two icons and two triptychs designed and painted by Fleur Kelly in the late 1980s and 1990s. The painting in the semi-dome of the apse depicts Christ Pantocrator, flanked by Mary and Child and an elderly St Augustine, on a gold background; Julian Orbach writes that the apse is "much enhanced" by the work. [3] The icons to the sides of the apse are of Pope Gregory the Great and King Ethelbert of Kent. The triptychs are of the Virgin Mary and Child, and St Augustine holding a model of the current church.

There are six stained glass windows: three in the apse and the ocular window high in the nave above the apse arch date from the earlier years of the church. Two other windows on the south side are from the 1950s. The south window of St Peter is by Basil Barber, an apprentice of Sir Ninian Comper.

Parish

A district (parish) was created for the new church in 1930, [4] from parts of the parishes of Rodbourne Cheney and Swindon New Town (the latter being the parish of St Mark's, the first church for the railway town, consecrated in 1845). [2]

From 2004 [5] until 2018, [6] St Augustine's was joined in a united benefice with All Saints, Ferndale and St Barnabas, Gorse Hill. Since late 2018, St Augustine's is a separate parish. [7]

Music

The church has a strong musical tradition, the choir of the early days having nearly 50 men and boys. Women were allowed into the choir for the first time in the mid-1970s. The choir presented the nameplate of the steam engine "Westminster Abbey" to the choirboys there, and it can still be seen in the choir school. The church returned to Westminster Abbey to commemorate the presentation in March 2015.

Sir John Betjeman was said to be a regular visitor to choral evensong and once hosted the choir at his Wantage estate for a summer choir camp. The choir has previously sung in cathedrals and major churches including St Paul's, Westminster Abbey and St Mary Redcliffe and was well known in the locality for its size and quality.

The church has had two organs. The pipe organ of two manuals and 12 stops (896 pipes), built by Hele of Plymouth, was decommissioned in 2003, and most of the pipework and action has been removed except for the large Open Diapason display pipes, some pedal pipes and the bottom 12 notes of the Dulciana stop which are now displayed on the church floor. The current organ is a two-manual digital organ of 33 speaking stops, donated to the church in 2003. The loudspeakers are positioned high up in the organ loft, about 30 feet (9.1 m) above the north stalls of the choir.

Events

In 2018, a display of 1,300 poppies commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Armistice and the end of World War One. [8] The poppies were made by pupils of Even Swindon Primary School and church members, and hung on thin lines so that they appeared to float above the congregation and visitor alike. Other displays included a cascade of knitted poppies over the font and from the high altar, "There but Not There" silhouettes, and information on the local men who never came home. [9] Photos of the displays were included in most UK national newspapers and the church was used by BBC Points West for a live broadcast of their evening news programme on 9 November 2018, the Friday before Remembrance Sunday. The programme was anchored by Alex Lovell.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherborne Abbey</span> Church in United Kingdom

Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It has been a Saxon cathedral (705–1075), a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539), and since 1539, a parish church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishops Cannings</span> Human settlement in England

Bishops Cannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England, 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Devizes. The parish includes the village of Coate and the hamlets of Bourton, Horton and Little Horton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grafton, Wiltshire</span> Human settlement in England

Grafton is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Marlborough. Its main settlement is the village of East Grafton, on the A338 Burbage - Hungerford road; the parish includes the village of Wilton and the hamlets of West Grafton, Marten and Wexcombe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Francis Xavier Church, Liverpool</span> Church in Liverpool, England

St Francis Xavier's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Salisbury Street, Everton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active parish church in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Pastoral Area of Liverpool North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portsmouth Cathedral</span> Church in Hampshire, United Kingdom

The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat of the bishop of Portsmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame)</span> Church in Indiana, United States

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Notre Dame, Indiana, is a Catholic church on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, also serving as the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross (C.S.C.) in the United States. The neo-gothic church has 44 large stained glass windows and murals completed over a 17-year period by the Vatican painter Luigi Gregori. The basilica bell tower is 230 feet (70 m) high, making it the tallest university chapel in America. It is a contributing building in Notre Dame's historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The basilica is a major tourist attraction in Northern Indiana, and is visited annually by more than 100,000 tourists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Bristol</span> Diocese of the Church of England

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highworth</span> Human settlement in England

Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Swindon town centre. The 2021 Census recorded a population of 8,258. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating from its pre-eminence in the 18th century. It also has a 13th-century church, St. Michael and All Angels. The parish includes Sevenhampton village and the hamlets of Hampton and Redlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Pierre de Montmartre</span> Church in arrondissement of Paris, France

Saint-Pierre de Montmartre is the second oldest surviving church in Paris, after the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres. It is one of the two main churches on Montmartre, the other being the more famous 19th-century Sacré-Cœur Basilica, just above it. Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, begun in 1133, was the church of the prestigious Montmartre Abbey, destroyed in the French Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upton Scudamore</span> Human settlement in England

Upton Scudamore is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies about 1.8 miles (3 km) north of the town of Warminster and about the same distance south of Westbury. The parish includes the hamlet of Halfway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Paris</span> Basilica church in Paris

Located at 6, rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, The Basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires is one of ten minor basilicas located in the Île-de-France region of France. It was begun as an Abbey church, and constructed between 1629 and 1740 in the French classical style. Its name was given by King Louis XIII, who dedicated it to his victory over the Protestants at La Rochelle in 1628 during the French Wars of Religion. Notre-Dame-des-Victoires is famous for the ex voto offerings left there by the faithful. Over 37,000 devotional plaques, silver and gold hearts, as well as military decorations, have been left at the basilica. The closest Métro station is 'Bourse'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Augustin, Paris</span> Church in arrondissement of Paris, France

The Église Saint-Augustin de Paris is a Roman Catholic church located at 46 boulevard Malesherbes in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The church was built between 1860 and 1871 by the Paris city chief architect Victor Baltard. It was the first church in Paris to combine a cast-iron frame, fully visible, with stone construction. It was designed to provide a prominent landmark at the junction of two new boulevards built during Haussmann's renovation of Paris under Napoleon III. The closest métro station is Saint-Augustin

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancaster Priory</span> Church in Lancashire, England

Lancaster Priory, formally the Priory Church of St Mary, is the Church of England parish church of the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is located near Lancaster Castle and since 1953 has been designated a Grade I listed building. It is in the deanery of Lancaster, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the Diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is combined with that of St John and St Anne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Lawrence, Stratford-sub-Castle</span>

St Lawrence's Church at Stratford-sub-Castle is a 13th-century Grade I listed Church of England parish church, to the north of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It stands close to the abandoned settlement of Old Sarum and the River Avon, and is about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Salisbury Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Mold</span> Church in Flintshire, Wales

St Mary's Church is an Anglican parish church in Mold, Flintshire, Wales, and a Grade I listed building. It belongs to the Deanery of Mold, the Archdeaconry of Wrexham and the Diocese of St Asaph of the Church in Wales. It has historical associations with the Stanley family, Earls of Derby and displays heraldic symbols of this, including an Eagle and Child assumed by the family in the 15th century, and the Three Legs of Man, derived from a time when the Stanleys were Lords of Mann. Under Father Rex Matthias, the previous incumbent, the church took on an Anglo-Catholic style of liturgy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, Trowbridge</span> Church

Holy Trinity Church, Trowbridge is a Grade II* listed 19th-century Church of England church in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, which had parish church status until 2011. It is commonly known in Trowbridge as 'The Church on the Roundabout', as it is encircled by a one-way traffic system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Purton</span> Church in Wiltshire, England

St Mary's Church in the village of Purton in north Wiltshire, England, is an active Church of England parish church in the Diocese of Bristol. A large building begun in the 13th century and one of only three churches in England to have both a western tower and a central spire, it has been designated as a Grade I listed building by English Heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sopworth</span> Human settlement in England

Sopworth is a small village and civil parish in northwest Wiltshire, England, on the county's border with Gloucestershire. The village lies about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) west of Sherston and 6.5 miles (10 km) west of Malmesbury. The parish is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodbourne</span>

Rodbourne is a suburb of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, north of the town centre and about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) northwest of Swindon railway station. It includes an area formerly called Even Swindon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Thomas's Church, Salisbury</span> Church in Wiltshire, England

St Thomas's Church is a Church of England parish church in central Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The church was founded in the early 13th century and rebuilt in the 15th century at the expense of the city's prosperous merchants. Above the chancel arch is a large doom painting from the late 15th century or early 16th. The building is Grade I listed.

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Church of St Augustine (1023525)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 Dunning, R. W.; Rogers, K. H.; Spalding, P. A.; Shrimpton, Colin; Stevenson, Janet H.; Tomlinson, Margaret (1970). "Swindon: Churches". In Crittall, Elizabeth (ed.). A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 9. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 144–159. Retrieved 22 March 2023– via British History Online.
  3. ↑ Orbach, Julian; Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (2021). Wiltshire. The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. p. 702. ISBN   978-0-300-25120-3. OCLC   1201298091.
  4. ↑ "No. 33572". The London Gazette . 21 January 1930. pp. 417–418.
  5. ↑ "Our History". All Saints Swindon. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  6. ↑ "United Benefice Service - 30th September". Parish of St Augustine, Even Swindon. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  7. ↑ "Application Pack: Priest in Charge, St Augustine of Canterbury, Even Swindon" (PDF). Bristol Diocese. September 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Timothy, Nick (8 November 2018). "Remembrance is an act that brings Britain together". The Telegraph. London. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  9. ↑ Hayns-Worthington, Sid (9 October 2018). "St Augustine's Church in Rodbourne finishes installation to remember local soldiers". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 22 November 2018.

51°33′59″N1°48′05″W / 51.5663°N 1.8014°W / 51.5663; -1.8014

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.